Success comes and goes, players sign and leave, managers join and quit while chairman buy and sell. Apart from the unwavering support of fans there’s only one other constant in the world of football: the finances.

With the world slowly coming out of recession, this summer has seen a remarkable, but relative, tightening of purse-strings in the Premier League. Bar perennial money-bags Manchester City, cash hasn’t been splashed with such wanton abandon as in previous seasons. Perhaps new squad rules played a part? Perhaps owners suddenly realised how much money football clubs haemorrhage? It doesn’t matter, what matters is that this gives way to a fairly different style of playing Football Manger: Financial Prudence (FP).

Some of you may remember this ‘quasi-challenge’ from the FM10 forum and it’s back, not bigger, maybe better but back nevertheless for FM11. Last year it was a success and hopefully this year it will be just as popular. For those of you who have no idea what FP is, want to refresh your memories or just see if anything has changed, here’s how it works:

Financial prudence is exactly what it says on the tin, running a club in a financially prudent way. For those of you who don’t know what prudence is, I recommend the OED. So what does it entail?

Spoiler:Financial Prudence is NOT

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.- doing anything to get a big bank balance, this can be done via paying for quality players over 48 months and then not worrying about the debt because your uber-squad wins everything. This is fine if you want to play this way, but it is NOT FP. - selling your whole squad to raise money and then buying a cheaper, probably slightly worse squad. The point is when done properly the lack of major player-shifting in FP helps improve team morale and performance.- strictly spending only half of your transfer budget, not a penny more or less. See below.signing only free transfers and loans.

Spoiler:Financial Prudence is NOT

- doing anything to get a big bank balance, this can be done via paying for quality players over 48 months and then not worrying about the debt because your uber-squad wins everything. This is fine if you want to play this way, but it is NOT FP. - selling your whole squad to raise money and then buying a cheaper, probably slightly worse squad. The point is when done properly the lack of major player-shifting in FP helps improve team morale and performance.- strictly spending only half of your transfer budget, not a penny more or less. See below.signing only free transfers and loans.

Spoiler:Financial Prudence IS

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.- running your club in a way which allows it to be competitive and successful on the field without jeopardising the clubs financial position- improving the clubs financial situation through a combination of methods in a steady fashion, usually over a period of many several seasons- usually taking a club with outstanding debts or poor finances and turning them into a financially stable, successful club (e.g. Portsmouth)

Spoiler:Financial Prudence IS

- running your club in a way which allows it to be competitive and successful on the field without jeopardising the clubs financial position- improving the clubs financial situation through a combination of methods in a steady fashion, usually over a period of many several seasons- usually taking a club with outstanding debts or poor finances and turning them into a financially stable, successful club (e.g. Portsmouth)

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Ok, so you understand it so far: you want to make the finances and the club better at the same time. “How do we do this without spending millions on players?” I hear you ask. Well last year I wrote guidelines for myself so that I could do this properly and invited people to use them as a basis for their games. This year I’ll write similar guidelines below. Once again I invite people to use them either as their own or as a basis for personalised ones.

Spoiler:***DISCLAIMER:PLEASE READ***

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text. These are guidelines I’m writing for me. I’ll try to make them as clear as possible so that other people can follow them. They are, however, just GUIDELINES. To post here you needn’t adhere rigidly to them. Feel free to adapt them to suit your style of play or your specific game. Unlike last year I won’t be answering endless questions on them. They aren’t degree-style physics equations, they’re simple guidelines about FM. Read them carefully and understand them before starting. And as said numerous times they are only GUIDELINES, they aren’t ‘the rules of financial prudence’. If in doubt, use your highly evolved brains. Due to the huge amount of confusion last year, this year I’ve given the guideline, a “how it works in practice section” and a “problems that might arise” section which between them should hopefully quell any unnecessary questions

Spoiler:***DISCLAIMER:PLEASE READ***

These are guidelines I’m writing for me. I’ll try to make them as clear as possible so that other people can follow them. They are, however, just GUIDELINES. To post here you needn’t adhere rigidly to them. Feel free to adapt them to suit your style of play or your specific game. Unlike last year I won’t be answering endless questions on them. They aren’t degree-style physics equations, they’re simple guidelines about FM. Read them carefully and understand them before starting. And as said numerous times they are only GUIDELINES, they aren’t ‘the rules of financial prudence’. If in doubt, use your highly evolved brains. Due to the huge amount of confusion last year, this year I’ve given the guideline, a “how it works in practice section” and a “problems that might arise” section which between them should hopefully quell any unnecessary questions

So here are my guidelines for FP11:

- Spend no more than 50% of bank balance in any season on transfers. This caused so much confusion last year it’s unreal, when in fact it’s so simple. Transfer budget = money given to you buy the board to spend on transfers. Bank balance = money the club has in its bank account. I’m going to spend less than 50% of my total bank balance per season. This guideline prevents you from spending money you don’t have, which sometimes the board budgets for (for some unknown reason), or just too much money in general. To help with this I sometimes just adjusted my budget to max out the wage budget, and then spent half of what’s left. Then I’m definitely not spending too much.

Spoiler:How does it work in practice?

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.Say my bank balance is £20M and my transfer budget is £6M. This guideline allows me to spend all £6M of my transfer budget, because £6M is less than 50% of £20M. If my bank balance was still £20M but my transfer budget was £12M, this guideline only allows me to spend max. £10M of it, because £10M is half of the bank balance. If you feel particularly hardcore you can choose to only spend 25%, or if you’re new to the whole idea then set it at 75%. I choose 50% because it’s easy to calculate and works fine for me.

Spoiler:How does it work in practice?

Say my bank balance is £20M and my transfer budget is £6M. This guideline allows me to spend all £6M of my transfer budget, because £6M is less than 50% of £20M. If my bank balance was still £20M but my transfer budget was £12M, this guideline only allows me to spend max. £10M of it, because £10M is half of the bank balance. If you feel particularly hardcore you can choose to only spend 25%, or if you’re new to the whole idea then set it at 75%. I choose 50% because it’s easy to calculate and works fine for me.

Spoiler:Potential Problems

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.Problems that arose last year include: what happens if I sell a player for £10M, can I spend the whole amount on new players or just 50%? My personal choice was to only spend half of that (£5M) on a replacement/new player. However if you feel that you need to spend the whole £10M or none at all then do that. Another problem would be: do future transfers count in the season I make them in or the season that they go through in? I’d say the season you make them in, even if the money isn’t paid until the transfer actually goes through. Again feel free to use your own judgement. Please guys, just use your brain before asking a mindless question about this one.

Spoiler:Potential Problems

Problems that arose last year include: what happens if I sell a player for £10M, can I spend the whole amount on new players or just 50%? My personal choice was to only spend half of that (£5M) on a replacement/new player. However if you feel that you need to spend the whole £10M or none at all then do that. Another problem would be: do future transfers count in the season I make them in or the season that they go through in? I’d say the season you make them in, even if the money isn’t paid until the transfer actually goes through. Again feel free to use your own judgement. Please guys, just use your brain before asking a mindless question about this one.

- Have a wage structure: only Key Players on contracts of £60K/week or more (including appearance bonuses). Last year this was set at £50K/week although that got very difficult to adhere to very quickly, so this year I’ve upped it to 60. Wages are just as balance - sapping as big transfers, maybe more so seeing as you pay them 52 weeks of the year. This guideline prevents over-indulgence on huge wages which can cripple a club a lot easier than some big transfers.

Spoiler:How can I replicate this?

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.Only players at the club which are key players can be on £60K+/week. Those that are on wages above that and aren’t key will either be sold, have their contracts reduced or where appropriate be upgraded to a Key Player. Key is defined as a definite starter who’s loss would detriment the club. E.g. for Utd Rooney is key, whereas the loss of someone like Valencia wouldn’t detriment the club too much. When buying new players, if they won’t lower their demands or accept a lower contract then it’s simple: I won’t sign them. Feel free to edit this for your club or league accordingly, obviously Oxford United won’t be rolling out the £60K/week wages anytime soon.

Spoiler:How can I replicate this?

Only players at the club which are key players can be on £60K+/week. Those that are on wages above that and aren’t key will either be sold, have their contracts reduced or where appropriate be upgraded to a Key Player. Key is defined as a definite starter who’s loss would detriment the club. E.g. for Utd Rooney is key, whereas the loss of someone like Valencia wouldn’t detriment the club too much. When buying new players, if they won’t lower their demands or accept a lower contract then it’s simple: I won’t sign them. Feel free to edit this for your club or league accordingly, obviously Oxford United won’t be rolling out the £60K/week wages anytime soon.

Spoiler:Les Problemes

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.Problems that may arise include certain players demanding big wages and not wanting to lose them. In the case I would think carefully about the role of the player at the club, how easy a good replacement is to find and the effect on the team of selling the player. Sometimes I sold them, sometimes I bent the structure a bit to accommodate certain players. Each case is individual.

Spoiler:Les Problemes

Problems that may arise include certain players demanding big wages and not wanting to lose them. In the case I would think carefully about the role of the player at the club, how easy a good replacement is to find and the effect on the team of selling the player. Sometimes I sold them, sometimes I bent the structure a bit to accommodate certain players. Each case is individual.

- Young players of 2 and a half stars potential or more are kept, either in the first team as rotation or out on loan at feeder clubs while those of 2 stars or less are sold. Young players of 3 and a half stars or more are automatically in the first team squad. This one is fairly easy to implement. For me nothing helps youngsters reach their potential more than gametime. So this year I’m making the extra effort to concentrate on youth. Players of the above potential have the ability to become either good players or profitable players. Using the above method I made millions last year, whilst also nurturing some youngsters into world-beaters in a matter of a few seasons. This year I intend on concentrating on youth even more.

Spoiler:Is there are problem sir?

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.The only problem I can foresee is a “I have an amazing 5 star potential regen striker but also have Torres, Villa, Aguero and Benzema, who do I play?” I’d say sell one of the stars and replace him with the regen. It’s win-win. Star goes = money and lower wage bill, regen plays = improves as player so becomes either good for the team or sellable for profit. Also the regen has the probable advantage of being much younger so has longevity over a potentially 30yo striker sucking up wages like a Dyson.

Spoiler:Is there are problem sir?

The only problem I can foresee is a “I have an amazing 5 star potential regen striker but also have Torres, Villa, Aguero and Benzema, who do I play?” I’d say sell one of the stars and replace him with the regen. It’s win-win. Star goes = money and lower wage bill, regen plays = improves as player so becomes either good for the team or sellable for profit. Also the regen has the probable advantage of being much younger so has longevity over a potentially 30yo striker sucking up wages like a Dyson.

- Maintain wage bill at a starting level/reduce wages as much as possible. Unchanged from last year it really just follows on from the wage structure guideline. Signing player X for £300K may seem like a bargain, but a wage of £30K/week is £1.56M/year spent on wages, not including other bonuses etc. When signing a player, think about what the wages actually mean in terms of spending, not just as a deduction from your wage budget.

Spoiler:Whatsa the matter with you

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.A problem which will arise (as it did for me) is: “I want to sign players but that means raising the wage bill above its original level”. This will happen, it’s a consequence of improved club profile: you want better players to compete at the next level but they want more money. I think I stuck to this for a season or two before it got too difficult. Just be flexible, as long as you don’t jump from £500K/week to £1.5M/week in one season then you should be fine.

Spoiler:Whatsa the matter with you

A problem which will arise (as it did for me) is: “I want to sign players but that means raising the wage bill above its original level”. This will happen, it’s a consequence of improved club profile: you want better players to compete at the next level but they want more money. I think I stuck to this for a season or two before it got too difficult. Just be flexible, as long as you don’t jump from £500K/week to £1.5M/week in one season then you should be fine.

- Be Arsene Wenger: sign young, sell in twighlight. This kind of worked last year and I want to try and get better at it this year.

Spoiler:How does it work in Practice?

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.In practice it means not spending £20M on 29+ year olds, while also selling players who have peaked and whose value will only start to drop. Good example of mine was Peter Crouch. Great striker with 100 goals in 4 seasons, but increasingly marginalised so sold in the 4th season for a decent sum before he became un-shiftable.

Spoiler:How does it work in Practice?

In practice it means not spending £20M on 29+ year olds, while also selling players who have peaked and whose value will only start to drop. Good example of mine was Peter Crouch. Great striker with 100 goals in 4 seasons, but increasingly marginalised so sold in the 4th season for a decent sum before he became un-shiftable.

Spoiler:There's 99 problems, but the pitch ain't one...

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text. “X is 32 but still my best player”. Then keep him until you find a suitable replacement, simple as.

Spoiler:There's 99 problems, but the pitch ain't one...

“X is 32 but still my best player”. Then keep him until you find a suitable replacement, simple as.

- Bosmans and loans: make full use of both systems to supplement/improve the squad.

Spoiler:How does it work in practice?

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.In practice this meant that if I saw a free transfer or loan player who was just as good as a current player in my squad, I’d probably sell my player and bring in the loan/free. This means you get the money from the sale, and all you’re doing is using the freed-up wages to get in a loan or a new (equally good) player.

Spoiler:How does it work in practice?

In practice this meant that if I saw a free transfer or loan player who was just as good as a current player in my squad, I’d probably sell my player and bring in the loan/free. This means you get the money from the sale, and all you’re doing is using the freed-up wages to get in a loan or a new (equally good) player.

Spoiler:Problema

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.The problem with this is it conflicts with my philosophy of ‘only sell if necessary’. This philosophy is great, as it means that the squad (which aren’t being Roy Keane’d into oblivion every transfer window) gel to a whole new level. It really does work very well and is worth trying. To get over the conflict I used our good friend judgement. If I did see a free that was good I’d go for him. Once I’d got him I could see which players in the squad were now surplus and sell them. If I didn’t get him, I still had a great squad. Again it’s win-win. The loan system is great. If you sell player X for whatever reason but can’t buy a good replacement, get in a quick loan for 6 months/a season and use them instead. If they perform then great, maybe you can buy them permanently. If they don’t then great they’re going back to their club and you can look for a permanent replacement. Once again it’s win-win.

Spoiler:Problema

The problem with this is it conflicts with my philosophy of ‘only sell if necessary’. This philosophy is great, as it means that the squad (which aren’t being Roy Keane’d into oblivion every transfer window) gel to a whole new level. It really does work very well and is worth trying. To get over the conflict I used our good friend judgement. If I did see a free that was good I’d go for him. Once I’d got him I could see which players in the squad were now surplus and sell them. If I didn’t get him, I still had a great squad. Again it’s win-win. The loan system is great. If you sell player X for whatever reason but can’t buy a good replacement, get in a quick loan for 6 months/a season and use them instead. If they perform then great, maybe you can buy them permanently. If they don’t then great they’re going back to their club and you can look for a permanent replacement. Once again it’s win-win.

- Only Sell If Necessary...

Now some of you may be thinking "I do this every game, I bought a regen for £5K then sold him for £50M just the other day". Ok fair enough, congratulations, but this is a challenge I'm setting myself and am inviting other people, who maybe don't always play with such financial prudence, to try out. Criticism is welcome, just not "this is crap I've done this in every game".

With regards to "cheating"/modifying the game I will not be using FMRTE, Genie Scout or the Editor. However each game is a persons own and he/she is fully entitled to use whatever they want on their game. Same applies to corner tactic and attribute masking. End of discussion with regards to cheating, not another word.

Finally I’d just like to say that while everyone is free to post in the thread, can we please not have muppets posting up their City or Madrid games. It defeats the purpose of the thread, as those clubs are so ridiculously wealthy that FP isn’t even in their dictionary. Also if people are going to do this can they do it properly, last year some people didn’t get that selling and buying 30 players a transfer window wasn’t the way to do it, even if it does make a profit: the bank balance isn’t everything!!!!.

I'm yet to decide who to play with yet, but I'll decide today and post up my first end of season report hopefully by tomorrow evening. Who else fancies a crack at financial prudence?[color=#eef0f9][size=1]

im using roma, if thats ok with you? balance was on red when i started playing, and we're losing about 2million/ month in the first season

Spoiler:squad's contracts

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.

Spoiler:squad's contracts

planning to sell tevez next season/ let his contract runs out. same goes with osvaldo, but im more inclined to keep him for another 3-4 years simply because he's italian.

there's no way de rossi would want to lower his wage, so meh

just a tip. if you're trying to sign a free agent but he demands too much money, offer him a trial for 2-3 weeks. they're more inclined to accept lower wage. that's how i did it with tevez. he wanted 180k initially, but i got him to sign a 83k/ week contract